A significant role of HR and employers today is to promote women’s equality, educate the workforce on women’s rights, and push for a more equal workplace. Today, in celebration of International Women’s Day, we’re highlighting women in HR who exceed in their roles and lift up not only other women but all employees. These organizations are lucky to have these professionals on their teams, and we’re proud to share their accomplishments.
Nichelle Grant, Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Siemens USA
Nichelle, with an incredible 31 years of HR experience, is in charge of the company’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that have helped make Siemens USA an organization in which all employees are empowered to reach their full potential.
More inspiring is that her entry into the DEI space was on a volunteer basis. She saw a missing piece of the culture puzzle and ran with it – our kind of woman! Besides her DEI efforts, Nichelle’s holistic approach to HR has built an employee base that mirrors the diversity of Siemens customers, suppliers, and partners. Her focus on the customer experience and operational excellence have helped create an inclusive work culture that truly maximizes success across the organization by involving diverse perspectives and approaches.
Thanks to Nichelle’s work, Siemens has earned a 100% rating for multiple years on the Corporate Equality Index and the Disability Equality Index.
Tamar Zolberg, OD Director at Taboola
We recently shared the case study of Taboola’s incredibly successful L&D program – and it’s all thanks to Tamar Zolberg, a long-time HR and L&D veteran. With over 25 years of HR consultancy, coaching, and organizational development experience, Tamar is a person who walks the talk. Previous organizations include LivePerson and HP Software, but Taboola was where she was truly able to expand L&D programs to include all employees.
At Taboola, she works with all departments to identify potential talents and promotes diversity initiatives that have proven successful and helped cut L&D costs while actually expanding her L&D programs.
Vaso Perimenis Ekstein, SPHR, sHRBP, MBA, Head of HR Strategy and Solutions at Ekstein Consulting Services
With over two decades of experience in HR and a penchant for driving change across the organizations she’s been a part of, Vaso is an exemplary HR professional. She understands the importance of combining business strategy with employee development: By designing a business partner model that enables tight integration between HR and leadership.
Vaso is also a prolific writer on HR topics for various publications and wrote the book “HR and the New Hispanic Workforce,” co-published with SHRM. Vaso is committed to the future of HR and the digital transformation that is essential for organizational success in a changing business environment.
As she says in her LinkedIn bio, “I use design, innovation, iteration, collaboration, and digitization as enablers to modernize the people function.”
Amy Miller, Senior Recruiter at Amazon
Not many HR professionals would have a blog called “Recruiting in Yoga Pants” (Subtitle: Dressing up is for suckers), but Amy Miller gets away with it easily. Why? Because of the inspiring and educational content she provides for job seekers of any kind. Her site offers info on networking, a salary FAQ, and recruiter FAQ templates – all designed to help empower job seekers.
Amy’s been a recruiter for over 20+ years, “hunting everything from truck drivers to CFOs,” as she says in her LinkedIn bio, including at Microsoft and Google. Now, as Senior Recruiter at Amazon for Project Kuiper, she helps candidates find their way and believes that “good consulting sometimes looks like bad customer service” – which can empower many a job or just advice seeker.
Besides recruiting and blogging, Amy also hosts a weekly YouTube podcast where she dishes out even more recruiting advice in a fun, approachable way.
Jennifer Butchen, Senior Human Resources Business Partner, MSHRD, SHRM – SCP at Deloitte
Working her way up the corporate ladder, Jennifer Butchen started as a Recruiting Manager at Deloitte in 2004. Moving up to her current role as HRBP, Jennifer works on talent management, performance management, employee relations, change management, and training and development. Long story short: Jennifer has a full plate of HR and L&D that she excels at.
She has played a major role in making Deloitte a top employer, promoting equality and diversity among women and upholding the company’s values of ‘fostering inclusion’ and ‘taking care of each other’. And a reason why Deloitte is recognized as a desirable workplace by organizations including Great Place to Work, and LinkedIn.
It was over a century ago that the first International Women’s Day was celebrated, and over one million people participated. It’s expanded into a global day of celebration for women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements. We still have a lot of work to do for women in the workplace, especially when it comes to pay gaps and promotions. But change happens over time, we’re excited to see what International Women’s Day 2023 looks like.
